ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday launched a Rs407 billioninterest-free loan programme to uplift Pakistan’s lower-income groups andmake them less dependent on the government.
According to a Radio Pakistan report, the government intends to disburseloans among the youth, women and farmers and for the construction oflow-income houses during the next two years under the prime minister’sKamyab Jawan Programme, a flagship poverty alleviation scheme.
“We have included 4.5 million families in the Kamyab Jawan Programme,” theprime minister said in a televised address, addressing a ceremony atIslamabad’s Faisal Mosque. “We started from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Now, we areintroducing this programme to the whole country.”
Khan said Pakistani banks had provided loans of up to Rs55 billion tolower-income groups, which was unprecedented in the country’s history.
“[The main idea behind the program is] to facilitate people to stand ontheir feet and start their businesses,” Khan said. “The government willnever have enough finance or resources to give money to such a largepopulation.”
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Khan said his government would ensure that by the end of this month, everyfamily in Punjab would have health cards and have access to healthinsurance amounting to Rs1 million.
He promised that every penny collected as tax by the government would bespent on the welfare of the people.
